NM Veteran, Dying after Breathing Toxic Fumes from Burn Pits, Explains Udall's Efforts are the First Step to Finding a Cure

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – The Udall campaign's first two ads, airing back-to-back, tell the story of how Tom Udall worked across party lines, took on the Department of Veterans Affairs and passed a law to improve care for thousands of veterans sickened after breathing toxic fumes from burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The two new ads, both 30 seconds, began airing today. The first ad describes how Tom Udall worked in the U.S. Senate to create a national registry of veterans exposed to fumes from the huge open-air pits, which burned nearly constantly throughout Iraq and Afghanistan. The U.S. military used burn pits to dispose of mounds of battle trash: Humvees, unexploded ordnance, rocket launchers, bloody gauze, body parts and more. Thousands of veterans who breathed the fumes have become sick, and many are dying.

The second ad features Jessey Baca, an Iraq veteran from Albuquerque's South Valley, diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, mesothelial hyperplasia and constrictive bronchiolitis after breathing fumes from burn pits for months. Baca tells how the registry Tom Udall fought to create will help save the lives of veterans like him.

"Imagine if every breath felt like a cactus in your lungs. I was one of thousands of soldiers exposed to burn pits in Iraq. Piled up trash and medical waste and ignited with jet fuel. We breathed it for months. Now I'm dying from it," Baca says in the ad. "Tom Udall created a national registry for victims. The first step toward a cure. For others, that'll mean everything."

After meeting Baca and his wife Maria, Tom Udall introduced the bipartisan Open Burn Pit Registry Act of 2011 to help the VA better understand how air pollution from burn pits has led to diseases among service members and help veterans get more information about the issue. Despite objections from the VA, Udall pushed ahead with the bill. It was signed into law in January of 2013, and the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry was created on June 19, 2014.

"The VA didn't want to admit that veterans have become ill from toxic fumes from burn pits used by our own military. But Tom Udall took on the VA to help veterans like Jessey Baca get information and treatment – and one day a cure," said Campaign Manager Daniel Sena. "As our Attorney General, Congressman and U.S. Senator, Tom has always fought for New Mexico veterans and families – no matter what – because he has the integrity to do what's right for New Mexico."

Watch the new television ads here: http://www.tomudall.com/landing/our-new-ad/

Transcript of "IMAGINE" running 30 seconds: "Imagine, as far as you can see, a large pit filled with trash and medical waste and ignited with jet fuel, burning right next to that neighborhood. I'm Tom Udall, and we'd never allow that here. But tens of thousands of our troops breathed this for months in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now too many are dying from it. It's why I created a national registry of victims to help find a cure. I approve this message for them."

Transcript of "CACTUS" running 30 seconds: "Imagine if every breath felt like a cactus in your lungs. I was one of thousands of soldiers exposed to burn pits in Iraq. Piled up trash and medical waste and ignited with jet fuel. We breathed it for months. Now I'm dying from it. Tom Udall created a national registry for victims. The first step toward a cure. For others, that'll mean everything. I'm Tom Udall and I'm humbled to approve this message."